Crazy Custard Lady
by BlueFeatherQuill
Summary: Jenny works as an intern at a hospital in New York, but when an old friend comes in to ask a favour things start getting a little weird! (a gift fic for Jenny by me and Anna)


_Crazy Custard Lady_

Outside the window Jenny could see delicate flakes of snow tumbling gently from grey clouds.

"Looks like you're gonna have a tough journey home dear" Doris smiled. Jenny looked down at the kind-eyed old woman who was sitting docilely under the UV lamp by the window.  
"Oh I wouldn't worry too much, the bus stop is just outside." Jenny gently tucked a beige woollen blanket around Doris's nobbly knees. "Besides I have a nice thick winter coat."

"I suppose you must be used to the cold weather what with you being from England."

Jenny smiled "I don't know about that, we don't get snow quite like this back home. This is the first time I've ever seen it so deep!"

"How long have you been here then sweetheart? This can't be your first winter?" Doris asked, shuffling slightly to get comfy and settling herself in for a good natter.

"Oh It must be four months now?" Jenny pulled up a chair opposite the old woman and dragged over a small tray table with a glass of water. "Here, drink some while we chat."

Doris obliged and drained the glass, saving the last dregs for the waxy-leafed money plant sitting on the windowsill.

"I'm here at the Presbytarian hospital for six months but I'll stay in New York for a year out of my uni degree." She explained. "I've been in the US since August."

"Oh my goodness look at you! Why at your age I don't think I'd left my home town, let alone moved country! You must miss your friends?"

Jenny chuckled at that.

"Oh they won't let me miss them, they skype me every week and we write stories together. The time difference can be a little awkward but they're students so staying up late isn't much of a problem!" Doris laughed along with her.

"My they certainly sound as though they care about you. But still - it must be quite an experience coming here to study to be a doctor. New York's a very big city with some interesting people, you must have seen some strange cases."  
"Oh I don't know about that!" Jenny laughed again, "I'm an assistant radiographer, it's mostly run-of-the-mill broken bones and SAD patients like yourself. Although I definitely get to keep good company." She smiled warmly at Doris who waved a dismissive arm in her direction.

"Oh stop you flatterer! I'm sure you'll treat patients far more interesting than me before your internship is through!"

Just then Doctor Murata, one of her senior supervisors and renowned hospital heartthrob, poked his head through the door. His curly black hair bobbed gently as it resettled over his nut brown forehead.  
"Miss Beeby? Someone's asking for you down in the ER."

Jenny frowned in confusion before apologising to Doris.

"I'm sorry we'll have to cut this short, I'll be back soon to take you back to your bed."

With a quick wave goodbye Jenny jumped up to follow Doctor Murata down the corridor. Her mind started racing at a mile a minute. Who could it be asking for her? Maybe someone needed a coffee refill?

The ER was as hectic as ever, patients in varying states of distress and frustration waiting for their turn to be treated. Jenny scanned the room trying to find anyone who could be looking out for her. Doctor Murata pointed to the front desk.

"The kid over there in jeans and an orange t-shirt." He said before hurrying off to deal with a toddler who had a neon yellow crayon stuck in his trachea. Waiting over by the front desk Jenny could just make out the form of two boys, one leaning lazily against the other. The taller one she recognised, that golden blonde mop was as distinctive as ever. Will Solace was certainly a sight to behold even from this distance. If that was Will then the boy standing next to him… could that be the infamous Nico di Angelo that Will could never seem to stop talking about?

She approached the pair with a big smile on her face. She'd been waiting to meet Will's boyfriend for months, ever since he had first mentioned Nico with that huge dopey grin plastered from ear to ear. But why come see her today?

"Will!" She called out walking closer, all the while becoming more concerned about just how heavily Nico appeared to be leaning against Will's shoulder. It looked far less like casual physical contact between two people who were very close and more like a necessary relief of pain. "Will?" She said again as he turned to meet her gaze, a concerned frown marring his typical god-like good looks. "Is this Nico? Is he okay?"

By this time Will had spotted Jenny moving towards them and pulled a strained smile to greet her.

"Jenny! Hi! It's good to see you!

"Will, he doesn't look too good?" She peered round Will's shoulder to get a better look at the pale frame of the boy trembling as he leant against both Will and the front desk.  
"Yeah, about that," Will's arm wrapped protectively around Nico's back, gripping him tightly. "Can I ask a favour?"

Sneaking two guys into a radiography department was not only a stupid decision, Jenny decided, but also much harder than she'd thought it would be. They were standing at the bottom of a flight stairs as she and Will stared pensively at Nico's bad leg.

"I can walk, it's fine." Nico grumbled half-heartedly.

"No." Will and Jenny said in unison

"I could see if we can steal some crutches…?" Jenny suggested, although she knew that might be even more troublesome than getting an x-ray of Nico's leg.

"I have a better idea." Will said, and without warning he dipped down and swept his arm to the back of Nico's good knee with one hand encircling his back. Nico yelped at his sudden loss of balance.

"Will!" He gasped, his arms reaching automatically around his boyfriend's neck. "This is not necessary!" Will simply smiled at Nico's protests.

"It's quicker." Is all he said before beginning to ascend the stairs.

"Third floor." Jenny told him, as she held back to make sure Will didn't fall and cause them all even greater injuries. As they climbed, Will and Nico began to mutter to each other, trying to keep their voices low and out of earshot.

" ...message to both camps…"

" ...warn them ... prepare for a fight…"

" ...they don't have the right weapons… "

What on earth had she got herself mixed up in? Camps? Fighting? Weapons? This all sounded very violent! And they were in New York City… Will couldn't have gotten himself involved with gangs? No, he wasn't the type, surely? He just looked too… angelic. Nico on the other hand… Jenny scrutinised what she could see of the boy from behind Will's back. Earlier she'd spotted the pattern on his t-shirt, a group of skeletons dancing the macarena, clad only in sombreros and ferociously wielding maracas. His dark hair, which had formerly been obscuring most of his face, had fallen to the side as Will carried him in his arms, in a way that reminded Jenny slightly of Doctor Murata. As it moved it revealed a myriad of small lacerations covering his pale skin like a second set of veins. Now Nico, _he_ could be in a gang.

Oh god what was she doing?

They reached the third floor without meeting anyone. Jenny left the boys in the stairwell while she scouted ahead to check the coast was clear. Her conscience was waging an internal battle. _Should I be doing this? … If they're in a gang maybe it isn't ethical to be treating them … I'm cutting the queue, all the others in ER need treatment .. I shouldn't be cutting them out just because Will is my friend … but Will_ is _my friend… and he works here too so obviously he knows what he's doing … probably … and I'm sure he's very worried about Nico … We have come this far…_

Down the corridor the door to the radiography room opened and Doctor Murata emerged with crayon boy. Jenny froze, not wanting to draw attention to her presence. But although Doctor Murata appeared to glance her way he did nothing to acknowledge her, instead turning to the child and leading him in the opposite direction, informing him loudly and in a voice that carried easily down towards Jenny that: "The radiography room isn't booked for any more patients today, so I'm sure one of our interns will come and switch off the machinery."

Maybe Doctor Murata was more observant - and less strict - than he let on.

While the coast was clear, she hurried in and prepared everything for Nico's x-ray. First she went into the technician's room on the side and grabbed an apron to prevent exposure to too much radiation. While she was there she made sure to double check all the equipment was on and running properly and that the current, voltage, and exposure time were all set correctly. Once she was satisfied she returned to the main room and checked the imaging plate that would actually receive the x-ray. It was all ready and waiting for Nico. Jenny sped back to the stairwell.

"Right," she said to the waiting duo, "the radiography room is free. We can do an X-ray of Nico's leg now so we can work out what exactly the problem is."

"Thank you, Jenny," Will smiled at her, his genial tone was marred by an undercurrent of anxiety but his eyes shone with true gratitude. He nudged his boyfriend gently.

"Mph, thanks," the smaller boy muttered.

Jenny and Will hurried towards the room, Nico still in his boyfriend's arms. Once there, Will laid Nico gently down on the bench while Jenny pulled the X-ray machinery into position over Nico's left leg.

"Okay Nico," Jenny smiled reassuringly at her patient. "Just relax and keep your leg as still as possible. This should only take ten minutes and it won't cause you any pain. If you can just roll up your jeans for me then position your leg directly under the scanner."

Nico did as he was told, pulling up the black jeans that were littered with so many holes and rips that Jenny was surprised they didn't disintegrate under his touch. She was even more surprised, however, when she saw how Nico's leg looked under his jeans. His lower calf, although looking normal when viewed from the side, took on a strangely transparent appearance when stared at directly. Worse still, there appeared to be a form of black gas slowly spreading up his limb, causing the translucent effect to worsen. It was as if Nico's leg was being consumed by shadows.

Jenny frowned and shook her head, trying to dispel what had to be some sort of optical illusion.

"Um, Will and I need to leave the room while I turn this on, is that okay?"

Nico nodded absently.

"Yeah sure. Whatever you need to do."

Will leaned over to kiss Nico's forehead and ruffle his hair softly.

"Hang in there sweetheart." He murmured, before following Jenny into the other room. She handed him an x-ray apron before activating the machine. Jenny flashed a small smile at Will who was gazing anxiously towards the door through which his boyfriend sat.

"You know, no matter how much we study there will always be things we don't know and cases we can't treat yet. But I promise you we'll find a way to help Nico. The first step is seeing what this x-ray can tell us about his injury."

"Yeah…" He sighed. " You're right, Jenny. Thank you." Will returned her smile. They waited a few more minutes then returned to check on their patient. Nico was still sitting in the same position, idly picking away at the paint on the wall next to him in order to create the distinct pattern of a skull. Jenny was pretty sure that the other patients would find the sight of a skull in a hospital rather ominous, but decided to deal with it later.

"Are we done?" Nico asked, spotting the pair as they returned from the other room.

"Almost." Will said. "We just need to wait a minute or two for the results, but the actual x-ray is done now."

Jenny walked over to the bench and helped Nico to shuffle over to a sitting position whilst she switched off all the equipment. As soon as she left the room again Nico let out a dramatic sigh. Jenny tried her best not to eavesdrop but found her efforts were futile.

"Look Will I appreciate your friend's help and all but this would all be done with so much quicker if we could just head back to camp and grab some ambrosia."

 _Ambrosia? Hmm…._

"Nico, you know we can't do that." Will smiled softly. He knew how much being incapacitated frustrated Nico, especially when it meant needing help from others. Nico was very much an independent soul.

"I just feel like we should be out there, doing something about this rather than sitting around in some mortal hospital waiting for test results!"

"I know Nico, I know. But you aren't in any state to be doing anything at the moment."

"It's fine!" Nico groaned. "I've had worse before and lived. Come on Will, she can mail us the results or something. I need to leave and find out what's going on. I hate not knowing what's coming after me. I hate how it's turning my powers against me." Nico sounded very worked up. Jenny willed the results to develop faster before the boy could do anything stupid like try to run back into a fight with one bad leg. She swore she would do everything in her power to ensure Will's boyfriend kept safe. She owed him that.

Finally, after what seemed like a decade the results came through. What she saw, however, caused her previous confidence to slowly leak away.

Instead of the typical human leg she had been expecting complete with femur, patella, tibia and fibula, the screen displayed an image which completely and utterly defied everything she had been taught about the human anatomy. There was the normal outline of a leg, to be sure, created by the skin and other soft tissue.

But there was _nothing inside the leg_.

Where distinct bones and trace images of muscles should have been, there was only a dark void, as if the boy's leg had been hollowed out and filled with tar. Sure, she'd told Will that in their profession they would come across things they didn't know, but this was at a whole new level. The stunned expression remained on Jenny's face for a few moments before she walked through into the main room and stammered "W-Will, m-m-may I t-talk to to you outside f-for a m-m-moment?"

"Of course Jenny," Will replied smoothly, avoiding her gaze slightly. "I thought you might have some questions to ask."

Nico was left brooding over his disappearing leg while Will followed Jenny outside the room. Once the door was shut, Jenny turned to look up at Will, her eyes wide.

""Will, Nico's … his gone is leg … the leg Will … what is going … the leg? I've never seen anything like this before! Did I miss a lesson on this?"

"No, this isn't something you would ever come across in a mortal textbook."

"Mortal textbook? Will, what...?" Jenny's eyes were wide, in uncharacteristic panic. Will sighed and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"Er yes, well you see, I may have dragged you into something Jenny, I'm so sorry." Will avoided making eye contact with his friend, instead shifting his focus onto the floor. Jenny was reminded of Nico's expression for a second, as if the two guys were perhaps more similar than she had thought. In any case, it seemed that they were both involved in something suspiciously underhand.

Jenny thought she may as well find out the truth sooner rather than later. "Will, are you and Nico in a … gang?"

Will's momentarily blank expression gave way to a sharp intake of breath as he hid his mouth behind his hands, seemingly suppressing an outburst of some sort. Jenny could only assume he was shocked she had deduced his secret. However, she was determined to help her friend.

"Will, although I can't agree with criminal activities I promise if you need help I'm here for you. Please don't feel that being in a gang will solve any of your problems." She finished with a piercing stare into Will's eyes, communicating an unspoken warning that he didn't have a choice in the matter: she would not _let_ him be a criminal. Despite her sweet nature, Jenny could be very strong.

The laugh Will had been struggling to contain suddenly exploded. Jenny frowned, that was not the reaction she had been hoping for.

"I'm sorry," Will gasped between breaths, "it's just- I'm not in a gang!"

"You're not?" Jenny wasn't sure what to believe.

"No! I promise no neither Nico nor I are in a gang. That's not what this is at all!"

"Then what is it? Why are you all so banged up, what on earth is wrong with Nico's leg, and why were you both talking about camps and weapons?!"

Will regained his composure. He met Jenny's eyes seriously.

"Jenny- have you ever heard of the Greek Gods?"

"Well yes, but what has that got to do with anything?"

"Stick with me alright?" Will said before he quickly explained the briefest details of life at camp half blood, and the events that had taken place during their most recent battle against Gaia's forces.

Jenny, meanwhile, listened attentively. Whereas Will had expected her to be either freaking out or completely disbelieving, Jenny accepted everything he said calmly. It was almost as if Will was explaining to her a truth that she had known all her life yet had forgotten up until that moment.

"But the problem right now is that while Nico was shadow travelling something must have gone wrong. Usually the shadows open up like tunnels for him to pass through but this time the shadows seemed malicious somehow, as if they were trying to attack him. Even when Nico brought us out of the shadows the darkness seemed to still cling to his leg and it's taken all of Nico's concentration since then not to collapse from the pain. I don't know what's happened, Jenny, I don't know what to do to help him." Will nibbled on his lower lip nervously, frustrated that after years of medical training both in the mortal world and at Camp Half Blood he couldn't diagnose Nico's condition, let alone ease his pain. "In fact, I've never come across this before. I can guess what has happened, although I really hope I'm wrong. I think somehow the shadows have infected him. They've gotten inside his leg and created a sort of vacuum. They're gradually turning it into a shadow of what was once there." Although Will delivered his verdict calmly in an attempt to remain professional, Jenny could hear the slight trembling that threatened his facade.

Jenny, too, buried her shock and confusion by adopting a professional attitude.

"Has anything similar ever happened before?"

"I guess," replied Will slowly, pondering his words. "Nico has been affected by shadows before, but never to this extent. Typically it just completely drains him of energy, there are no physical symptoms like this. A sunshine bath is normally enough to bring him back to his old self, but I don't have any of my ingredients here and I doubt that it would work this time any way."

"Wait, wait, wait." Jenny spread her hands in front of her as if physically trying to slow down the new onslaught of information her mind needed to process. "Sunshine bath...?"

"A mixture designed to allow Nico's body to absorb as much light as possible in order to counteract the negative effect of prolonged shadow exposure," Will clarified.

"So as long as we keep him nice and warm, like sunlight, maybe he'll recover!" Jenny smiled optimistically. "Right, I know what to do!"

"Um, Jenny, it doesn't work quite like that. It's more the 'light' part of sunshine rather than the heat that he needs…" He trailed off as he realised Jenny was already out of earshot, having entered an adjacent room that, Will knew from experience working in the department, was filled with blankets. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

Jenny returned with her arms piled high with fluffy woollen blankets in a multitude of warm autumn tones. Before Will could say anything to stop her, she had already approached Nico, holding up a red blanket warily as a matador would before a particularly grumpy bull.

"Nico, just hold still for one second, okay?"

"Huh?" The boy looked up from his reverie, only to find that Jenny was already winding blankets around his slim frame, essentially trapping him in place with his arms locked to his sides. His sullen glare turned into wide-eyed surprised as he processed what was happening.

"There." Jenny finished, stepping back to admire her work.

Glaring back at her was a Nico burrito.

"Jenny…" Will trailed off. He had being going to point out that blankets really weren't going to do anything to help Nico's problem but the sight of his boyfriend snuggled up in a cocoon of blankets was too much and he bit his lip to prevent himself from cooing like a child with a kitten.

"This is ridiculous." Nico scowled. "I can't move. Will, get me out of here."

Will did nothing but silently wish for a camera.

"This should at least keep you out of trouble while Will and I try to come up with a more permanent solution." Jenny smiled in satisfaction. "For now though you should get plenty of rest. I can't pretend to know how this shadow thing works, but from what Will told me it's taking up a lot of your energy. I'll see if we can find you a gurney, we can't keep you in here…" she trailed off pondering the logistics of keeping an unregistered patient in the hospital overnight.

Will snapped out of his state of adoration.

"Oh! Jenny, no, we can't ask you to do that, you could lose your internship!"

Jenny waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't be silly. I'll work something out."

Jenny poked her head around the door to Doris' room, making sure that the elderly lady was awake before she spoke up. "Um, Doris?"

"Oh hello dear," Doris turned towards Jenny. The patient was still reclining on her hospital bed in the same position Jenny had left her in, but now had a plant pot nestled in her lap while she carefully sprinkled plant food onto the surface of the soil. Somehow, despite the dark, cold night which should have made the flowers furl up tightly, they were still blooming.

Jenny grinned at this familiar sight. Doris and her flowers had become an almost permanent fixture in this room, and Jenny could have sworn that each time she visited Doris had managed to acquire a new pot plant, gradually turning the UV treatment area into a botanical garden.

"I thought your shift would have ended by now, sweat-pea. Aren't you tired?" Dorris enquired with fond concern.

"Actually, there's been a slight, um ... situation. I have a patient who needs to spend the night in the hospital. Would it be alright with you if he shared this room? He needs a lot of rest so he shouldn't be any bother and it will just be for tonight."

"Of course deary, you know I love company!"

"OK then, thank you! I'll just go and get him."

Minutes later, Jenny held the door open while Will wheeled Nico in. He was in a worse state than before, if that was even possible, with heavy smudges under his eyes and his skin paler than ever as if reflecting the snow outside.

"Will, park Nico over there opposite Doris," Jenny instructed, indicating to a space parallel to Doris' bed.

Nico's eyelids fluttered as he muttered something almost incomprehensible about not being the least bit sleepy. Will just gazed down at him fondly. "Nico, love, you need to rest if we have any chance of making it to Camp Half Blood tomorrow. We'll leave in the morning so for now get some sleep. I'll stay here beside you."

Nico glared back at his boyfriend as defiantly as he could beneath drooping eyelids. "Not tired," he mumbled.

"I can fix that for you with an anaesthetic drip," Jenny said cheerily, pretending to miss the fact that Nico's issue was not lack of fatigue, but stubbornness. But she guessed a reluctance to show weakness in front of others must be inbuilt into anyone who had to fight for their lives on numerous occasions.

"But first, I have something that I think will cheer you up!" Jenny grinned before heading out of the ward, leaving Will in charge of introducing himself and Nico to Doris.

Once in the break room, Jenny opened up her private cupboard. Each hospital worker was assigned one of these cubbyholes in which to store a few food items they were particularly fond of. Jenny had discovered an English food shop in Manhattan near the beginning of her stay, and since then had routinely purchased a few home comforts from there to keep in her cupboard. And sure enough, when she reached to the very back of the cupboard there it was: Ambrosia custard! This must have been what Nico was talking about to Will earlier! Nico's accent hadn't slipped past her notice, she was certainly no longer the only non-American in this hospital and if Ambrosia custard gave her the warm sensation of being closer to home, perhaps that was why Nico thought it would be so helpful to his recovery. Carefully she emptied the tin of creamy yellow goop and placed it in the microwave then set the timer.

In no time at all she was making her way back up to Doris' room with a steaming hot bowl of delicious vanilla custard. She opened the door cautiously, anxious not to wake the boy if he was already sleeping. Predictably enough he wasn't. Still stubbornly grasping on to the edge of consciousness, sitting bolt upright in his bed in an act of defiance against both her instructions and Will's. She smiled ruefully before approaching his bedside, the bowl hidden deftly behind her back.

"Hey Nico," she said softly, coming to stand next to Will who gave her a curious look. "I have a special surprise for you."

Nico frowned suspiciously.

"If it's anaesthetic I don't want it, thank you." His voice was clearly intended to be firm and assertive, although the effect was somewhat impeded by the way Nico's tired brain slurred the words together.

"It's not anaesthetic." Jenny reassured him, producing the bowl from behind her back and shoving it proudly under Nico's nose. "I heard you talking about it earlier so I thought I'd surprise you!" She grinned broadly as Nico eyed up the yellow substance.

"What..? What is this?" He shook his head as though trying to clear the offending bowl from his vision.

"I thought... I mean- it's ambrosia. You know, the custard. You said you'd heal quicker if you could just get some ambrosia, so I made you some…" Jenny trailed off, uncertain. "Did I make it wrong? Do you have a special way of doing it?"

Nico was now staring at her as though she had started glowing rainbow colours and playing Disco music.

"I don't… Will?" He said hopelessly, finally giving up on ever trying to understand his boyfriend's weird nurse-friend.

Will was once again suppressing laughter behind a clenched fist.

"Oh Jenny I'm so sorry!" He said standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Ambrosia isn't this… British custard stuff. It's literal ambrosia, as in the food of the gods. Demigods use it to heal themselves in battle." Jenny frowned.

"Well, I mean my mum always used to say this stuff was good enough for gods to eat…" she grumbled half-heartedly then stopped and looked down at the bowl of now luke-warm yellow sludge in her hands. She smiled. She bit her lip. Finally, she broke down into giggles as the reality of the situation made itself clear.

"You mean," she breathed through her laughter, "that I mistook a brand of custard-" Here she paused to breathe. "For some magical heal-all wonder-food?"

Will was now laughing too, both of them with tears streaming down their faces. He nodded wordlessly, unable to breathe long enough for speech.

Nico watched the pair of them with mild confusion. He really wasn't lucid enough to fully understand the situation, but what he could see was the effect Jenny had on his boyfriend. Her sunny personality was bringing out one of the best parts of Will, one that he worried didn't get the chance to shine through nearly as much as it should whilst Will was constantly worrying about him and all the other campers and patients in his care. She was the sort of person that allowed Will to be happy again, to be carefree again, even in all this mess they'd gotten mixed up in. And although Nico wasn't sure he'd ever really get the proper measure of this girl who seemed to be constantly thinking up new ways to confuse and confound him, he would forever be grateful to her for giving Will the chance to laugh when he needed it most.

For that reason, without meeting Jenny's eyes, he quickly reached out and grabbed the bowl from her.

"Thanks," he mumbled before beginning to eat the custard. At the first mouthful his eyes widened. "Um, this is actually pretty good."

"You're welcome," smiled Jenny, still giggling a little. However, as much as she wanted to continue what was looking to be her longest conversation with Nico since she had met him, she couldn't suppress the small yawns that constantly interrupted her laughter. Deciding that falling asleep while trying to smuggle a patient out of hospital tomorrow morning was not a good option, she took a blanket for herself and curled up on a chair in the corner of the room. "If you need anything wake me up," she instructed Will sleepily. "But try to make sure Nico goes to sleep."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Will smirked, gazing down at his boyfriend. Nico had fallen asleep with the custard spoon still hanging out of his mouth. Evidently, even Nico's willpower was no match for a bowl of creamy goodness. Will shook his head with a smile and carefully removed the spoon from his boyfriend's face.

Half way through the night, Jenny awoke to the sound of soft voices in the room. Opening her eyes slightly, she could just make out the still form of Nico asleep in his bed, and the slight movements of Will and Doris as they gently conversed. Too tired to move, Jenny simply let their words flit through her ears.

"Yes, I do love my plants." Doris, it seemed, had managed to get Will onto her favourite topic. "And they just seem to thrive so well around me. That's the power of loving something, I guess."

"You should see the strawberry fields at the camp I work at," replied Will. "They're amazing, all juicy and fat and round. The kids there work really hard at keeping them healthy."

"Oh that sounds absolutely divine. It reminds me of the summer camp I used to go to as a little girl. We had strawberry fields there too! Now every time I eat a strawberry it takes me back."

"If you like I can send you a punnet once I get back there with Nico."

"That would be lovely, dear." Jenny could hear Doris' smile through her words. "But are you sure going back there right now is a good idea? Your boyfriend doesn't look very well, won't he be better off staying in hospital for a few days, the medical facilities at that camp can't be any better than here?"

There was a brief silence, maybe Will was considering his answer carefully before he spoke out loud.

"Well…" He paused again. "You know sometimes things like fresh air and sunshine can do you a world of good."

Another pause.

"Yes," Doris sounded amused. "Particularly in the dead of winter."

Will gave a little half-laugh.

"Yes."

"Well," Doris said slowly. "I'm sure you know what's best, a clever young man like you. You just make sure your boyfriend is alright. I can't say I know him very well having only met him a few hours ago, but that doesn't stop me from worrying."

"Of course!" Determination rang through Will's voice, despite his quiet tone. "Nico is going to be fine. _I'll make sure_ that Nico is fine."

Jenny's last thought as she drifted back to sleep was that Doris was right: loving something did help it to thrive, and she was certain that Will's love for Nico was what had kept the smaller boy alive up until now. Now she would just have to make sure that Nico got better - not just for his sake, but for Will's too.

The next morning the sun pierced bright and grey through the heavy clouds over New York City. Jenny was the first to wake, she went to stand up and open the curtains but stumbled, not realising her leg had gone numb from her uncomfortable sleeping position. The momentum of her fall forced her to grab hold of whatever was nearest to prevent herself from diving headfirst towards the floor. Unfortunately for Jenny, what was nearest was Nico's hospital gurney. She gripped desperately onto his ankles.

"Hhmph?" The boy lifted a sleepy eyelid and stared in confusion at the girl at the foot of his bed. Jenny froze and stared back. After a few seconds, Nico frowned, curled onto his other side and snuggled closer to where Will's head rested on the pillow beside him. "Crazy custard lady." Nico mumbled into Will's hair. As he laid his head back down his dark curls gently rested amongst Will's golden strands, both of them intertwining into a mess of early morning bed-hair.

Jenny smiled at the adorable display of affection, but was quickly distracted by the rumble of her stomach. She pursed her lips in thought for a moment.

Nico, unlike Doris, would not be receiving a hospital breakfast. She hmmed quietly to herself wondering where to buy them all something to eat. One thought, however, dominated her mind… _Doughnuts._

Doughnuts were Jenny's favourite food, specifically Krispy Kreme doughnuts. And having moved to America she was truly ashamed to admit how many she must have eaten. It didn't help of course that just down the street from the hospital was a small yet busy Krispy Kreme store. Jenny checked her watch. 06:00am. The store will have just opened. Suppressing a grin she rushed down to the staff lockers to find a coat, hat, scarf and mittens, and then hurried out through the staff entrance. She headed straight towards the shop on the corner of West and 164th, the green awning out front was visible almost from the hospital doors. Although the walk itself was cold, there were a good few inches of snow settling on the ground, Jenny was wrapped up nice and warm in her thick puffer jacket. In fact by the time she reached the front door, the red lights from its sign suffusing amongst the snowflakes, she was feeling pretty warm, she could feel the blood pumping through her cheeks.

She opened the door to a burst of warmth from the store's heaters and stepped inside. This was her favourite part. As you stepped inside a doughnut store the acrid smell of car exhaust and street trash melted away to be replaced with the sweet soft scents of baking and powdered sugar. Jenny could almost feel the soft chewy dough as it slipped down her throat. She grinned.

"Good morning there!" Called the girl from behind the counter.

"Hey there Kennedy!" Jenny replied with a wave, pulling off her hat and gloves and loosening her scarf.

"You'll be having the usual?" Kennedy knew Jenny as one of the regular customers. Jenny was a serious fan of a doughnut breakfast.

"Not this morning Ken, I have a few other people to buy for!" Jenny smiled. "What have you got for me that's nice and fresh?"

"Oooh!" Ken rubbed her hands together happily and leant forward so she could see the doughnuts laid out in the glass case in front of her. "So here we have the glazed chocolate cake!" She pointed at the top shelf through the glass. "And next to that the lemon cheesecake, those are just delicious! Then our traditional glazed, and glazed with raspberry filling, chocolate glazed with custard filling and finally strawberry cheesecake! Those are all fresh out a few minutes ago so they're still nice and warm, the rest of that shelf are this morning's early bake so they might not be as warm."

Jenny considered what her friends would like. Doris, she knew, was a fan of strawberries, while Will seemed like a citrusy kind of person. Now for Nico. Despite his intimidating exterior she suspected that he had a sweet filling … just like custard!

"Ok, I'll take a strawberry cheesecake, lemon cheesecake, chocolate glaze with custard filling and traditional glazed please."

"Wow Jenny, I've always suspected you were a serial doughnut eater but are you sure you want four doughnuts for breakfast?" Kennedy queried.

Jenny laughed. "They're not all for me Ken! I have some friends at the hospital who are in need of a good breakfast. Ooh, and I'll need four hot chocolates too, please."

Once Jenny's hands were clasped around a cardboard tray of hot chocolates and the bag of doughnuts was balanced precariously in the crook of her arm, she made her way out of the shop, with Kennedy holding the door open for her lest she drop everything. Thank goodness the doors to the hospital were automatic.

Back in the hospital room, Nico and Will seemed to wake up a little at the scent of fresh doughnuts. Jenny placed the drinks on the table and wrapped a napkin around Will's and Nico's doughnuts, before holding them out to the two boys.

"Here, I got you doughnuts for breakfast!" She smiled happily.

Will grinned back as he sleepily sat up, while Nico - still cocooned in the blankets - rose like a zombie from a grave (albeit a highly adorable zombie), his eyes fixed on the food. He wriggled until his hands appeared over the top of the blankets and reached for the doughnut still in Jenny's outstretched hands.

Overcome by the cuteness of the spectacle, neither Jenny nor Will made any moves to help him. "Hey," Nico glared slightly at Jenny. "Are you going to pass me the doughnut or not? Stop teasing me."

"Oh, yes, sorry Nico," Jenny couldn't help smiling even as she apologised. Nico, for the second time that morning, muttered 'crazy custard lady' under his breath, but his glare was half-hearted as if he was trying to suppress a smile himself.

"I got one for Doris too, but she's still asleep so I'll leave it on her bedside table," Jenny said, placing the strawberry cheesecake doughnut down next to the elderly lady. Then Jenny settled down to enjoy her own breakfast.

Once they were finished and the wrappings thrown away, Jenny thought it would be a good idea for Will and Nico to escape now while it was still early, before visiting hours began and the hospital filled with people.

"Okay, we're going to have to be really quiet. Just stay behind me." Jenny whispered to the others after they had readied themselves to leave, wrapped up warm in coats and scarfs to combat the New York winter chill. She opened the door and peeked outside. The corridor was silent and deserted. Perfect.

"I'll carry you Nico," Will decided, hoisting his boyfriend up into his arms. Nico, bundled up in a huge black parka Jenny had found in the staff lost property, squawked in protest.

"Will, I can walk just fine on my own. Put me down!" Nico's cheeks flushed pink against Will's bright orange winter coat as he pushed futilely at the other boy's chest.

"You're injured Nico, I can't let you put any more weight on your leg or it might get worse. Besides, I shouldn't need an excuse to carry my boyfriend." Will grinned cheekily at Nico, whose face grew even redder.

Nico turned his face away from Will's in embarrassment and mumbled something that sounded like "You should look out for yourself more."

Will's smile widened but all he directed at Nico was a loving "Idiot" before turning resolutely to Jenny. "Lead the way, we'll follow right behind you."

They were either extremely skilled at avoiding people or extremely lucky, but somehow they managed to make it all the way to the hospital foyer without being spotted. Unfortunately, the entrance was, as usual, filled with people.

"Right, if we want to get past without being questioned we should look confident, as if we have nothing to hide. Nobody should doubt us if we look as if we don't doubt ourselves." Jenny instructed her friends, partially trying to convince herself.

The looks on the faces of the other two were equally dubious. All three hovered in the doorway, each waiting for somebody else to take the first step.

Nico didn't like how many people there were.

Will didn't like how each time he shifted position Nico winced in pain.

Jenny didn't like how she had to _sneak two demigods out of a public hospital in broad daylight_.

Collectively, there was a lot to be concerned about.

"Um, let's go on three?" Jenny ventured. "One … Two … Three … Go?"

Yet as Jenny and Will stepped out into the waiting room with Nico still cradled in Will's arms, the automatic doors directly opposite them opened to reveal something that would make their escape a little more complicated.

Opposite them stood a figure shrouded in black shadows, which swirled into the room as if determined to bring night prematurely to the awakening day. Rippling across the floor and clinging to any objects in the path, the shadows had within a matter of seconds created a carpet of dense black dread racing towards Jenny, Will and Nico, who stood frozen.

The figure at the centre of the shadows slowly moved forwards until it was clear that it was not just the effect of the shadows that made his form indistinct, but that he really was blurred around the edges, like a drawing rendered in charcoal. The thin shreds of sunlight that managed to penetrate the fog shone right through him. That's when Jenny realised that this person must be …

"A ghost," Nico whispered. "And a powerful one at that. Look, he's controlling the shadows. That means he must be the one who…"

"Gave you that wound," growled Will. For the first time since the mysterious figure had entered the hospital Jenny broke her gaze to glance at Will. In contrast to his usual serene expression, Will's face conveyed a deep and unwavering hatred. Whoever hurt his boyfriend would not - _could_ not - be forgiven.

The sudden bursts of shrieking from the patients and nurses in the room broke the silence. Later, Jenny would recall that as the mortals ran from the room they had been screaming something about a gang leader, and the need to phone the police immediately.

"Dumb mortals," Nico mumbled as Will set him on his feet. "The police can't help."

"Neither can you." Will turned to him sternly. "I'm going to deal with this so stay here and don't move. That goes for you too, Jenny."

Just as Nico opened his mouth to protest, the ghostly figure spoke from across the room.

"How touching. But don't bother. I didn't spend years in Tartarus learning to control the shadows just to be beaten by The Ghost King's _boyfriend_!" Rage rattled through his voice as his bleak black eyes stared straight at Nico. "You _murdered_ me Nico di Angelo! You're not the great hero everyone pretends you are. Your righteous anger reduced me to this, but what's righteous about execution without a trial? Sure I was a pretty awful person, but you Nico? You're a hundred times worse. I hurt people. But I _never_ killed" The bitterness now gave way to self-satisfaction. "But you didn't quite manage it. You didn't destroy me completely. And my remaining energy has only grown over the years since we last met. Now, finally, I can show _you_ how it feels! I will honour my father by subjecting you to the eternal punishment you deserve!"

Sickening realisation seemed to have dawned on Nico's ashen face. "Bryce," he whispered. "Bryce Lawrence."

Will spun to look at his boyfriend in disbelief. "But I thought you'd killed him! Reduced him to nothing, even less than a ghost!"

"I thought so too," Nico replied grimly.

"Romans cannot be beaten by Greeks so easily!" Bryce hissed. "I will make you wish you had never stood against me!"

Will stepped forward, shieling Nico behind him. "You will not touch him."

"You can't stop me, son of Apollo. But I have no objection to obliterating you as well." Bryce grinned ominously.

"You're all talk Bryce." Will sneered, reaching backwards to unhook the stygian iron sword from his boyfriend's belt loops.

"Oh I am am I?" Bryce's form solidified and the smoky tendrils exploring the foyer rushed back inwards like a sharp inhalation of breath. With an ear-splitting crack they exploded out once more, and where they came into contact with the polished marble floor great fissures opened up allowing thin skeletal hands to grasp out into the morning sun.

"Sic 'em boys." Bryce grinned manically.

A whole host of dilapidated skeletons had now hauled themselves out from their earthy grave and were advancing towards Jenny, Will and Nico.

"Stand back," Will said, stepping forward to meet them with Nico's sword in his hands. Over his shoulder he called out. "Jenny, I need you to get Nico out of here, keep him safe." Jenny was about to protest, she must be able to do something to help, but then Nico piped up.

"There is _no way_ I am leaving you to fight my battles on your own." He grimaced as he pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning on and stumbled over to his boyfriend. "I may not be in best condition but I'm still the best weapon we have against Bryce and his army of the undead."

Will turned briefly as though he was about to argue, but seeing the look on Nico's face he simply heaved a huge sigh.

"Fine." He relented, reaching one hand behind him to help support his limping boyfriend. "We'll do this together. Stay close." He then turned to Jenny. "You should get out of here. It's not safe."

Jenny frowned and huffed indignantly but knew that if she kicked up a fuss it would just put Nico and Will in more danger, they needed to focus on fighting off those skeletons. She could focus on a way to try and help them take down their ghost.

Let's see, what had Will told her about getting rid of shadows? They were banished through exposure to heat? No, she'd misunderstood that earlier. It wasn't heat, it was … light?

And then it hit her. She _did_ know of a way to take down Bryce!

Jenny spared a quick glance at Will and Nico, who were decimating skeletons with terrifying force only to face more and more as Bryce called forth reinforcements from the beneath the ground. _Yes_ , she thought to herself, _they can hold them off for a while, but I need to act fast_.

And with that she was off, speeding down the corridor because not only her life, but the life of her friends, depended on it. Gasps of the evacuated mortals who lined the corridors followed the sound of her shoes smacking against the floor as she ran with all her might back the way she had come only a few minutes before. Reaching Doris' room, she stumbled inside and made a beeline for the UV lamp beside Doris' bed.

"What's the rush, deary?" Doris queried calmly. Seeing the flustered expression on Jenny's face, she then asked more worriedly "Is everything ok?"

"Sorry Doris, I can't explain right now, but I promise I'll tell you everything later!" Jenny pledged, before mentally adding _If I even live that long!_

She rushed to the corner and picked up the UV lamp helping Doris with her SAD. In a flash she was back out of the room, one hand on the stand the other cradling the bulb itself, she couldn't let it smash before it had fulfilled its purpose. Within seconds she found herself once again at the waiting room, where Will and Nico's prospects looked bleak. They stood back to back, surrounded on all sides by an army of skeletons. The vast quantity of bones that littered the floor conveyed how truly skilled at fighting the pair were, yet with each new influx of skeletons they had become more and more tired. Although their stances looked strong, Jenny could tell that Nico was leaning against Will's back for support. Like this, they couldn't last much longer.

"Will!" Jenny shouted from the doorway. Will turned slightly towards her, lopping off the skull off an approaching skeleton in the process.

"Jenny, get back!" Will shouted.

Jenny ignored him. Yes, Will may have technically been her senior, having started his internship before her, but she knew what she was doing. She couldn't back down now.

"Will, clear a path for me so that I can get to Bryce!" Jenny instructed him clearly, holding up the UV lamp above her head in the hope that Will would understand what she meant to do. Thankfully, he did. He gave Jenny a serious nod before addressing his boyfriend behind him.

"Nico, do you have enough strength left to drive back the skeletons on your side? Jenny will only need a few seconds. But if you can't do it don't you dare push yourself, di Angelo!"

"Psh," Nico scoffed. "I can't let my boyfriend think he's stronger than me." Nico suddenly grinned at Will, the fire and adrenaline of the battle roaring in his eyes and numbing out the pain in his leg. "Let's do it!"

With a resurgence of energy the pair flew into action, seamlessly carving through droves of skeletons in movements so fluid they could almost have been dancing. It was entrancing, but Jenny didn't have time to stop and stare. She watched as a path seemed to emerge through the flying limbs and darted her way through the battlefield until she reached the part where the cloying smoke was thickest. It was hard to see where she was going, strange forms kept taking shape in front of her. She twisted and turned trying to work out where this ghost Bryce was hiding.

"What do you think you're doing?" Suddenly a column of smoke rose up behind her and reached out to grab her shoulder. Jenny almost yelped in surprise, but managed to keep her composure and darted out of the way just before the billowing vapour solidified into a grasping hand.

"You can't beat me. You're a civilian, I'm surprised you're even able to see my true form." Bryce swept round to block off Jenny's escape route. "Are you truly ready to die for di Angelo?" He sneered.

Jenny looked at him with determination, her hand recurring around the stand of the UV lamp.

"I'm not going to be the one dying." She stated, and shoved the the lamp straight into the centre of Bryce's constantly shifting figure.

The ghost paused for a moment, a look of consternation and confusion flit across his face and then-

"No." Whispered Bryce. Then before her eyes he began to dissipate, the light shining stronger and stronger from inside him as his body disappeared. Before she knew it, Jenny was left brandishing the UV lamp into thin air.

Sensing that their leader had been vanquished, the remaining skeletons simply disintegrated into piles of dust, as if whatever magic Bryce had used to summon them had disappeared with him.

Will and Nico stood in the centre of the room, disheveled and exhausted. And smiling.

"Jenny," Will began.

"Thank you," Nico finished quietly.

Jenny smiled softly back at them and heaved a sigh.

"Well, I am glad that that's over!" She laughed. Will chuckled along with her.

"Yeah, next time I come visit I'll try not to bring any demented evil ghosts with me!"

"I would hope not." A voice came from the open doors out onto the New York streets. The trio turned to face the newcomer.

"I fear mortal hospitals are not always so well equipped to deal with attacks such as these." As he said this, the mysterious stranger stepped through into the foyer, morning sun outlining his silhouette.

Jenny squinted and for a second she thought the voice came from someone riding a horse but then as he got closer she could see that he wasn't _riding_ a horse, he _was_ the horse!

"Chiron." Will stepped forward to meet the half-human, half-horse man who was now walking (or should that be trotting?) into the hospital. "It's good to see you!" He held back slightly so as to wait for Nico to limp forward with him.

"And you Will." Chiron replied, but he looked concerned. "I received an iris message from someone at the hospital saying you were in danger. But it seems you have dealt with the worst of it." At this he gestured around to the devastation wreaked in the foyer. "But Nico, you seem unwell."

Nico Was still leaning heavily on Will and his face was now paler than ever.

"'M fine." Nico murmured. "Just need to sit down." With this his legs gave out from under him, and he collapsed to the floor, with Will trying to hold him up by his armpits.

Chiron rushed forward and knelt down so that his horse legs folded underneath him and he was able to reach out to help Will reposition Nico until he was being cradled in Will's arms.

"The shadows are still consuming him," Will's voice was raspy as though he was short of breath. " I thought that would stop now that Bryce has gone, why hasn't it stopped?"

Nico's eyelids fluttered shut.

"Chiron, we have to help him." Although he was striving to remain calm Jenny had never seen Will more panicked than he was now, fingers gripping tight to Nico's ridiculous black parka, the other hand, tangled in his dark curls, gently stroking at the side of his face.

"Come on sunshine," he murmured, face bent close to Nico's. "I need you to stay with me."

Jenny watched with horror at the two boys. They'd won the fight how was this fair? Nico's body was becoming more and more in distinct, smudging at the edges in the same way as Bryce Lawrence.

The exact same way.

Perhaps…

Jenny rushed over to Nico's side, pushing her way between Chiron and Will so she could get to Nico's jacket zipper.

"Help me get his shirt off." She said, pulling the coat off his shoulders.

"What?" Will asked, staring at Jenny in much the same way his boyfriend had earlier when presented with a bowl of custard.

"We need to get as much of his skin as possible exposed to the UV lamp." Jenny explained as she worked on the ridiculous skeleton Macarena shirt.

Will didn't really need much of an excuse to help Jenny remove his boyfriend's clothes and within seconds Nico's cloudy pale skin was under the purple glow of the lamp. As the light touched his skin the grey smudginess retreated until eventually the boy appeared to be returning to just natural olive glow.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Nico's chest began to rise and fall at a healthy pace.

"Thank you." Will said for the second time that morning. "Thank you so much."

Jenny simply took a deep breath.

"I guess this is what we're training for right? To help people."

Will smiled.

"You've certainly done that."

"Yes you have," Chiron agreed with Will. "If you ever feel that you wish to gain some _less conventional_ experience we always need an extra pair of hands in the infirmary at Camp Half Blood. Now, if you will excuse me for a moment, I wish to quickly greet the person who brought me here."

"Oh yes, you mentioned that." Will looked up at Chiron. "Who was it?"

"If you follow me you'll see."

So that's how Jenny, and Will found themselves standing outside Doris' door while Nico slept in Will's arms and Chiron greeted the elderly lady as a daughter of Demeter, casually asking how her plants were doing.

Simultaneously, Jenny and Will let out a disbelieving cry of "Doris?" while their brains tried valiantly not to spontaneously combust.

After a revealing long chat with Doris about her time as a daughter of Demeter at camp half blood it was time for Chiron, Nico and Will to return there themselves. By this time Nico had awoken from his short nap and although conscious was still very dozy, once more leaning heavily on Will for support.

Jenny stood in the foyer, with Doris holding on to her arm for support, mirroring Nico and Will who stood in front of them, just outside the door, although there was perhaps a little less romance on Jenny and Doris' side.

"We'll see you again soon I hope!" Will called with a slight wave of his free hand. Nico, who was clinging on to the other nodded and smiled warmly back, a sight that Jenny thought she might treasure for the rest of her days.

With that Chiron leant down to help the two boys onto his back, before himself nodding a brief goodbye.

"Please do come visit sometime." He smiled then turned to check that everyone was ready and secure. The trio made quite a sight with the morning sun glinting light gold off their backs. Chiron with his glossy brown coat, Nico with tiny flakes of snow settling like a crown against his forehead, and Will, arms wrapped tightly around his boyfriend to prevent them both from falling off Chiron's back, his hair shining the exact same colour as the rays of light surrounding them.

 _My goodness._ Jenny thought as she watched them gallop away down 164th. _Anna and Alice are never going to believe me when I write to tell them this!_


End file.
